Now all she needs is the Venice Film Festival's top honor.
Zhang Qiurui secretly thought in her heart that the Venice Film Festival prefers works that are both artistic and innovative. She was thinking about which film to shoot to compete in the Venice Film Festival.
Films such as "Departures", "Farewell My Concubine", and "Hidden in the Smoke" flashed through Zhang Qiurui's mind one by one, and each film stirred different ripples in her heart.
Zhang Qiurui knew that in order to stand out at the Venice Film Festival, the films he chose had to not only be profound but also touching and show unique artistic charm and innovative spirit.
"Departures" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for its delicate emotional portrayal and profound exploration of the philosophy of life and death.
However, it seems that the actors would find it difficult to accept the fact that this movie was filmed in mainland China.
In this era, movies shot in mainland China are either red films or art films. If an actor resists shooting movies of this type and his acting skills are not up to par, then he will waste the opportunity to shine at an international film festival.
Zhang Qiurui sighed. She knew very well that although themes like "Departures" have been highly acclaimed internationally, it is extremely difficult to get actors to accept and invest in it in the mainland market, especially in the current cultural environment.
As for "Farewell My Concubine", Zhang Qiurui also wants to shoot it, wanting to make something that foreign countries dare not shoot but that they want to see, but the time is not ripe yet, so they have to wait.
Besides, "Farewell My Concubine" contains many Peking Opera scenes, which requires the actors to learn Peking Opera in advance. In a short period of time, if the actors do not have any Peking Opera foundation, it will be impossible to film "Farewell My Concubine".
Finally, Zhang Qiurui's eyes fixed on "Hidden in the Smoke and Dust".
With its unique narrative perspective, profound concern for the fate of marginalized people, and simple yet powerful visual style, this film perfectly fits her imagination of the award-winning works at the Venice Film Festival.
Later, the director of this film divided the shooting into several stages according to the rural labor life throughout the year, strictly following the seasons, and finally presented a complete movie to the audience.
To perfectly replicate this movie will take a lot of manpower and material resources. Perhaps we can jump from summer to winter shooting, let the actors immerse themselves in the roles in the first half of next year and experience every bit of rural life, then shoot in the second half of the year, finish shooting at the end of the year, edit it next year, and then submit it to the Venice Film Festival.
Zhang Qiurui, who had a plan in mind, immediately contacted Zhang Yimou and asked him to come back as soon as possible.
Afterwards, while there was still time, Zhang Qiurui took out paper and pen and began to write the script of "Hidden in the Smoke and Dust".
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Yimou knocked on the door and came in. Zhang Qiurui then raised his head and rubbed his sore wrist.
"Qiu Rui, you came back to me in a hurry. What happened?" Zhang Yimou asked with some confusion after coming in.
"Take a look at the telegram Teacher Situ sent me first." Zhang Qiurui handed the telegram on the table to Zhang Yimou.
Zhang Yimou took it with a puzzled look, unfolded the telegram, and quickly read through it. His brows gradually furrowed, and a hint of surprise and deep thought flashed in his eyes.
"The school called you back to shoot a movie? No, you will be the lead actor in "A Chinese Ghost Story" next year. You will go back to China to shoot a movie next year? What about my "A Chinese Ghost Story"? " Zhang Yimou had not yet come to his senses after reading the telegram. When he came to his senses and thought of this, he asked with an anxious look on his face.
“That’s why I came looking for you.
My plan is, first, to replace the female lead of "A Chinese Ghost Story" and choose someone else.
Second, it is only September now, so we should contact the selected actors immediately, confirm the time, and immediately form a crew to start filming "A Chinese Ghost Story" in advance.
"Shooting the two 'A Chinese Ghost Story' movies back-to-back will take at least four to five months, so they should be finished by February next year. This way, I won't be delayed from returning to China to film a movie next year," Zhang Qiurui said, already having made plans.
"Time is so tight? Qiurui, can your body handle it?" Zhang Yimou asked with some concern.
He knew that Qiu Rui was very busy. She had just finished filming "A Better Tomorrow" and had to take care of the subsequent editing, writing novels, writing scripts, etc. Now she had to shoot two movies in a row as the leading role, and then return to China to shoot a new movie. Zhang Yimou was worried that Qiu Rui's body could not withstand such a continuous and intense work.
“I’m young, so it’s okay if I get more sleep.
If we're going to film "A Chinese Ghost Story" ahead of schedule, you should contact the actors and assemble the crew first. I'll need to return to China first to confirm the cast and filming locations for next year's film." Zhang Qiurui was a man of action, and once he saw that Zhang Yimou had no problem with it, he set the tone.
"Qiu Rui, do you have an idea for a movie to be shot in China? Do you have a script? So quickly?" Zhang Yimou looked at Zhang Qiu Rui in surprise, his eyes full of disbelief.
After all, just a few hours after Teacher Situ sent the telegram, Zhang Qiurui had a preliminary idea for her new film.
"The domestically produced film will be adapted from my previous novel Hidden in the Smoke and Dust. Now I've only written the beginning of the script. I'll finish it if I stay up late and work on it a little more today." Zhang Qiurui replied with a smile.
"What a pity." Zhang Yimou recalled the novel "Hidden in the Smoke and Dust" that he had read, and said it was a pity.
"Hidden in the Dust" describes in great detail the customs and natural landscapes of the northwest rural areas, and has extremely high requirements for photographic aesthetics. He really wanted to be in charge of these shots, but after he finished filming "A Chinese Ghost Story", he had to spend a lot of time on post-production editing, which was a complete conflict in time, and he was unable to spare time to participate in the filming of this new film.
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